I Never Had Lunch Outside Up North On January 28 And Gracie Was Visiting For A Few Hours

Have a good look at the thermometer.  Well, it was out in the sun, so it is not the temperature in the shade Yet it reads real 15C or 60F. That made me a real happy camper. It sure felt like spring had sprung when I rigged up a lawn chair and had my lunch and coffee outside. Too nice to pass up such an occasion! However, 2 hours later the sun had vanished behind a cloud cover and the temps have gone down to 7C or 43F. Yet, still no reason to complain on January 28. I used the Day to haul in more firewood. It’s been such a blessing that they cleaned out underneath the power lines this fall.  After lunch, Bea got home with little Gracie in tow. The cute little girl’s owners had to go on a day trip and little Gracie needed some entertainment and motion over the day. Gracie was dressed appropriately with a woolen sweater sporting colourful hearts for decoration. Gracie was greeted by Molly and we always marvel at how well they get along with each other.     Thanks again for taking a peek!

When Campers Were Small And Cute

If you have been around for a while you will probably remember the camper trailers of your youth. Campers in the fifties and sixties were small and cute. They were also very colourful, some had even “wings” and they were towed by regular cars, Fords, Chevys, Studebakers and many others, most of them not around anymore. Fancy SUVs had not yet been invented and pickup trucks were work trucks and not commonly used for private vacation outings. I get totally excited whenever I see a surviver camper of those days, and there are actually companies around which restore old vintage trailers to their early glory. Even in a non-restored state they are not cheap. Many have a dream of owning one and since they are light-weight they still can be towed by regular cars.  So far so good. It has remained one of my dreams to own one and put it behind our 1972 Ford LTD. One day I was perusing the book of faces, when I discovered a beautifully painted water colour image of an artist in Saint Andrews By-the-sea, New Brunswick. Her name is Simone Ritter and she and her husband Markus are from Germany. While Markus is running his own renovated EUROPA INN & RESTAURANT, Simone is an accomplished artist, which doesn’t mean that Markus is not an artist. It is just that his art can be eaten. If Markus is not in the reception area it is because he is busy in the kitchen preparing world-class dishes brought to perfection with European Taste and refinement. Now, Simone Ritter, has developed a faible for small cute campers, and YES, she owns one too. It inspired her to start painting many of these old trailer models and make an entire series of it. They are finished in water colour and make very nice gifts for RVers. Simone has already sold many originals and also had a sale of calendars. You can find details on her blog and her website.     When I spoke to her last week she agreed to me putting her trailer paintings on the American-Traveler blog. Apparently, she has painted a hundred of them. I will post more of her trailer cuties from time to time. Every trailer has a description with model name and year. If you would like to order an original, calendar or prints you can contact me and I will bring your inquiry on to Simone or you can contact her through her website.